{"id":1764,"date":"2009-12-01T12:18:26","date_gmt":"2009-12-01T19:18:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/2009\/12\/01\/the-nationals-christmas-tree\/"},"modified":"2009-12-01T12:18:26","modified_gmt":"2009-12-01T19:18:26","slug":"the-nationals-christmas-tree","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/2009\/12\/01\/the-nationals-christmas-tree\/","title":{"rendered":"The Nationals’ Christmas Tree"},"content":{"rendered":"

Arbitration decisions–whether offered or subsequently taken–will be known by the end of this week<\/a>.\u00c2\u00a0 By the start of the\u00c2\u00a0winter baseball meetings in Indiapolis next week, GMs like Mike Rizzo will know whether Jason Marquis or Orlando Hudson will cost him a draft pick.\u00c2\u00a0 So rub your mitts together,\u00c2\u00a0hot stove\u00c2\u00a0will arrive\u00c2\u00a0next week like an early Christmas card.\u00c2\u00a0 My money says Mike Rizzo is going to\u00c2\u00a0put a few things under the Nationals’ Christmas Tree.<\/em><\/p>\n

The most surprising rumor this fall has been the interest by the Nationals in John Lackey.\u00c2\u00a0 Yes the\u00c2\u00a0Nationals desparately need a starter and a senior hand to bring along promising talents like Stephen Strasburg, Ross Detwiler, and others.\u00c2\u00a0 But there is more chance that Santa himself will sign with the Nationals than John Lackey.\u00c2\u00a0 Yet intimations that the Nationals still want a toe hold in the competitive baseball world are glad holiday tidings for their fans.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

When Mark Teixeira turned his nose up at the Natonals offer last year, they ended up with Adam Dunn.\u00c2\u00a0 So to whom will Rizzo turn his eyes when Lackey ends up in Boston, New York, or back in LA.<\/p>\n

The rumor mill has the Nationals talking to Mark DeRosa who can play corner infield or corner outfield.\u00c2\u00a0 DeRosa’s\u00c2\u00a0position flexibility makes him a highly sought commodity and he would be a welcome addition\u00c2\u00a0to the Nationals.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0Since DeRosa is not going to take a single game away from Ryan Zimmerman, DeRosa would primarily\u00c2\u00a0play first and outfield.<\/p>\n

The pursuit of DeRosa has to be considered in conjunction with the frequent trade rumors about Adam Dunn and Josh Willingham, who together accounted for most of the games at first base and corner outfield in\u00c2\u00a02009.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0DeRosa could be an important backfill if they are traded and not a bad piece if to have going forward even if they are not.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

Another bit of news that could impact Nationals plans next week concerns perennial Nationals favorite Orlando Hudson.\u00c2\u00a0 Hudson may not be offered arbitration by the Dodgers and that may make him even more attactive as the upgrade in the middle infield\u00c2\u00a0Rizzo has been talking about.<\/p>\n

Trades may\u00c2\u00a0be the first order of business next week in Indianapolis.\u00c2\u00a0 Dunn, and to a lesser degree Willingham, would look better in the AL where their gloves will play better in a DH role, but so far\u00c2\u00a0the early suitors for Willingham\u00c2\u00a0have been in the NL.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

Most talked about has\u00c2\u00a0been\u00c2\u00a0Atlanta.\u00c2\u00a0 The Braves are rumored to be willing to part with Derek Lowe and to a lesser degree Javier Vasquez.\u00c2\u00a0 Neither name has been tied to directly to Willingham, however.\u00c2\u00a0 The Braves did sign Tim Hudson last week to a three-year deal and with the development of Tommy Hanson, Derek Lowe is certainly expendable.\u00c2\u00a0 Shedding his three-year,\u00c2\u00a0$45 million contract would free up payroll for Atlanta to fill their more glaring offensive holes or backfill behind Mike Gonzalez and Raphael Soriano in the bullpen.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Nationals may not want\u00c2\u00a0to bail\u00c2\u00a0out a division rival like the Braves.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0If free agent starters like Lackey and (my favorite) Jason\u00c2\u00a0Marquis go to contenders as seems likely,\u00c2\u00a0Lowe may fit for the Nationals remarkably well.\u00c2\u00a0 He is\u00c2\u00a0a quality starter who can\u00c2\u00a0eat innings and serve as a role model and teacher to the many young pitchers Washington is bringing along.\u00c2\u00a0 He will cost less than Lackey and maybe not much more than Marquis.<\/p>\n

The other team interested in Willingham is the\u00c2\u00a0Cardinals.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0They\u00c2\u00a0traded most of their prospects at the deadline last year and while they continue to be\u00c2\u00a0linked to Willingham in rumors, there are better fits for the Nationals.\u00c2\u00a0 One possible fit would be trading Dunn to the White Sox for\u00c2\u00a0young players like Carlos Torres, Jayson Nix, and others.\u00c2\u00a0 Chicago GM Kenny Williams has not been shy about trading his young players, but his cupboard is about bare.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

Dunn, rather than Willingham,\u00c2\u00a0would bring the most in return and possibly the pitching help needed.\u00c2\u00a0 Rizzo tried to trade him last season.\u00c2\u00a0 Dunn’s power and OBP would play well in Oakland\u00c2\u00a0where Billy Beane is still searching for a suitable DH.\u00c2\u00a0 Beane has the kind of\u00c2\u00a0high-upside\u00c2\u00a0young talent that would work for\u00c2\u00a0the Nationals.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0Jack Cust, Oakland’s current\u00c2\u00a0outfield-DH,\u00c2\u00a0is a candidate to be non-tendered after another year where his offense slipped.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

Dunn would be a huge up-grade over\u00c2\u00a0Cust or just about any other DH rumored to be on the market.\u00c2\u00a0 If Beane thinks his young pitching staff is ready to compete, Dunn might be a relatively cheap addition to kick start an anemic offense.\u00c2\u00a0 And if the A’s cannot keep up with the Angels or Rangers, Dunn would be a nice chip for Beane to move in July.<\/p>\n

The bottom line for the Natonals is fairly certain.\u00c2\u00a0 To lure back fans, Santa’s elves will have to be busy at the winter meetings in Indianapolis.\u00c2\u00a0 Regardless where they do their shopping, be it Atlanta, St. Louis or Oakland; Nationals season ticket holders are certain to have something in their stockings by Christmas day.\u00c2\u00a0 There will be a free agent signing or two, maybe a high-profile trade if we are lucky.\u00c2\u00a0 Cue the Bing Crosby and let it snow, let it snow, let it snow<\/em>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Arbitration decisions–whether offered or subsequently taken–will be known by the end of this week.\u00c2\u00a0 By the start of the\u00c2\u00a0winter baseball meetings in Indiapolis next week, GMs like Mike Rizzo will know whether Jason Marquis or Orlando Hudson will cost him a draft pick.\u00c2\u00a0 So rub your mitts together,\u00c2\u00a0hot stove\u00c2\u00a0will arrive\u00c2\u00a0next week like an early Christmas […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":73,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1764","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1764","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/73"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1764"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1764\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1764"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1764"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1764"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}